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Subscribe to RSSThough he calls President Obama's plan to withdraw the 30,000 U.S. "surge" troops from Afghanistan by the summer of 2012 "substantial" and "positive," the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the withdrawal of the remaining troops to stay through 2014 is too slow.
"I think I will be arguing that it ... should be faster after the summer of 2012," Democratic Sen. Carl Levin told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," citing the "positive" conditions on the ground.
The Michigan senator recently called on the president to bring home 15,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan by the end of the year.
The Afghan army has grown but has also become stronger because "there's been a lot more partnering and training of the Afghan army with us and with other coalition forces," he said.
He also stated that "the Taliban's worst nightmare" is a faster drawdown, because the terror group could no longer use foreign involvement in Afghanistan as a "propaganda tool for recruiting."
But Levin realizes there is still a long way to go, and recent comments by Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- including his statement that NATO-led coalition forces are in Afghanistan "for their own purposes, for their own goals, and they’re using our soil for that" -- cause setbacks.
Levin told Mitchell "those comments were highly distrurbing, and when I go to Afghanistan in the next couple weeks, I will do what the president did and that's to tell President Karzai directly that those kind of comments play right into the hands of the Taliban -- which is the common enemy."
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This was Obama"s his 3 am call .....he rolled over and hit the snoozeeee button on the American people ...I guess he could care less about what the people want.. who pay his salary ! Good luck in the job search !
58% of the people said bring everyone home NOW ...this is why we are going broke ...these "BUMS" in Washington dont listen ...... Remember CHINA is paying for all of this ....its all borrowed money for a war that wins nothing !
"I will do what the president did and that's to tell President Karzai directly that those kind of comments play right into the hands of the Taliban -- which is the common enemy."
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Somehow I don't think anyone has bothered to inform Karzai that the Taliban is the enemy.
Obama's 3 am call was the Bin Laden call- and he handled it with flying colors- Yes, I want the troops home too- but pulling everyone out immediately is not a smart call- there is also a lot that we as spectators do not know-
This was Obama"s his 3 am call .....he rolled over and hit the snoozeeee button on the American people ...I guess he could care less about what the people want.. who pay his salary ! Good luck in the job search !
58% of the people said bring everyone home NOW ...this is why we are going broke ...these "BUMS" in Washington dont listen ...... Remember CHINA is paying for all of this ....its all borrowed money for a war that wins nothing !
Oh wow, deja vu all over again.
Sounds like another Republican who's suddenly become a hippie because there's a Democrat in the White House. Don't forget your love beads. Peace, man!
Remember CHINA is paying for all of this ....its all borrowed money for a war that wins nothing !
I would pull the troops and tell China we are not paying them, they can foreclose on Afghanistan and Iraq. It would be just like walking out on an upside mortgage, I think wall street would call this the smart play, they can whip up a chapter 13 for the USA, (they do it all the time and come out smelling like a rose), it should work for the nation. Tell China to send the repo men and come get Afghanistan and Iraq, we can't make the payments anymore. Now that's a plan!
shoot I meant to say upside-down mortgage I might add what is China going to do? Stop stocking wal-mart and if they do so what maybe when we are about to go barefoot and naked some rich person will create a job here. Maybe when we don't have any more of those made in China US flags to fly anymore.
Sounds brilliant to me Forrest!
The republicans are right. No serious discussion about the budget or about deficits should continue unless and until any and all non-defense operations are halted.
NOW!
We're broke!!